1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward a helmet, and in particular, to a helmet having an outer shell made from a fiber reinforced material.
2. Description of Related Art
There are many types of conventional helmets used for a wide variety of activities including sporting events and motorcycle riding. Most conventional sporting helmets include an outer shell made from a polymeric material and padding affixed to an inner surface of the outer shell to absorb energy from an impact to the shell. Conventional baseball batting helmets have an outer shell that is made from a polymeric material that is relatively flexible such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. In order to enhance the stiffness and protection adjacent the ear flaps or side of the head, it is known to provide a baseball batting helmet with an insert made from a relatively stiff fiber reinforced polymer affixed to an inner surface of the outer shell adjacent the ear flaps. While the insert enhances stiffness and protection adjacent the ear flaps, the insert also increases the weight, offset, and dimensions of the helmet so that it does not closely resemble a conventional helmet.